Some questions about living out the consecration

Good day everyone! I've known about the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary for a long time but for the last few days I've given it some serious thought. After reading about the horrible tragedy going on I couldn't help but feel a tad urged on in my devotion to Our Mother, with whom I've had a decent relationship with, but I think I can do better.

That said, I have a few questions about living out the consecration, for those of you who are currently living it:

1. To what extent does Mary possess everything about my life? What I mean is this: when I pray to the Lord, does that prayer automatically get offered to Mary even if I don't explicitly give it to Mary, or do I need to explicitly give it to Mary?
2. Can you describe how your love for and faith in Jesus Christ has improved through the consecration? I know in theory that a true devotion to Mary will not decrease but rather increase our love for Him; however, I can't get myself to actually believe that. By that I mean I have to keep reminding myself that Mary is a shortcut to Christ and not a distraction (or whatever), and it's not intuitive. Maybe that comes with practice, I don't know.

If I have more questions I'll post them. The next Marian feast day is September 15th (Our Lady of Sorrows), so I can start as early as this Wednesday, the 13th (and I kinda want to given how urgent our situations are becoming, but I don't want to rush into this. I've told my wife before that I have a condition known as Shiny New Devotion Syndrome! )

Thanks and God bless!

 

AveCrux, I may not be the best person to respond, but I can say this much. 1) It is sooooo very important at the start of each new day to say the "Morning Offering" in giving everything we do, say and think to Jesus through Mary. Once you do this you don't have to do it again and again thoughout the day. 2) Mary teaches us how to love Jesus through her own experience in doing so. We invite Mary to teach us about her son through the rosary and essentially everything that we do. After all, who knows Jesus better then Mary? Since she is the bride of the Holy Spirit she is closet to Him as well and will prepare for us all His gifts and fruits if we desire it.

I might add that we should do what Mary requested and wear her Brown Scapular as our armor and pray the rosary as our weapon against evil. Doing things Mary's way is very simple, but very powerful. I have not convinced anyone else in my family to wear the scapular yet, but they will.... and i have bunches of them when the time comes

 

1. True consecration means everything you do passes through the hands of Mary to Jesus. It was scary to me at first, giving everything to her completely, but it has been the most freeing experience. Every prayer, every act of sacrifice or virtue is her property, which is purified and magnified, and so becomes perfectly pleasing to her son. Since she has a bird's eye view of need, she can distribute the grace where it is most needed. What she does with it is not my concern, but, just like the Lord, she can not be outdone in generosity, so she sees after my needs and the needs of those in my heart. What a deal!!!

2. I did my consecration right after my conversion 26 years ago, and wandered off from it. When I renewed it 2.5 years ago, I seriously went through the 33 days, and I definitely felt the weightiness of it. Shortly after, Jesus invited me into an intimacy I never dreamed of, that continues to grow. All I can figure is that He sure loves His mom, and is delighted when we love and honor her, too.

 

Hey AC!
All my prayers, fasts, sufferings, etc., go to Mary. That way she can enhance them and and go to more causes of her choice. Initially I had some reservations about this, but she knows the intentions I have in my heart for my family and friends, and I trust she will see to their needs as well. Imagine you pray a single rosary...and she takes that and enhances that and maybe it has the power of two rosaries...or a hundred...or a million...who knows??

I have felt since the consecration, I am more focused on my conversion. I try to have a daily offering for Mary to take to her son. I try to please Jesus more than I did before and I am more conscience of how He is working in my life. I think the daily focus of offering something to Mary (even if it's just a crappy day) keeps me focused on striving to do better and please Jesus more.

Have you read Louis de Montford? He explains it all very well in True Devotion to Mary.

Maybe others here are thinking of consecration as well and maybe it can be done as a group? That helped me a great deal. And yes, with the events we all think are heading our way...hop on that consecration train NOW! You won't regret it!

 

Mysteriously enough I actually own a brown scapular. I remember finding it in my sock drawer several months ago after having buried in there since first grade (a nun from my Catholic grade school distributed it to us). Is it ok to just wear it, or does it carry other external devotions that I need to be aware of? I want to wear it but I worry that if I take on too many external devotions at once I'll fail to practice all of them.

Thank you for your responses, all of you. At this point I see no practical reason why I shouldn't go through with the consecration, so I'm going to start my 33 days tomorrow!

 

AveCrux, my wife and I are on Day 7 right now, please feel free to ask me any questions. This is the first time I've done it so it'd be great to have another person to share in the consecration.

 

Thank you, I'll keep that in mind! I'll be praying for you and your wife. How is it going so far, in general?

 

You just reminded me I have a brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in a cupboard that I had forgotten about. I just put it on now this minute. Thanks for the reminder

 

http://www.stpeterslist.com/9345/7-...-the-brown-scapular-of-our-lady-of-mt-carmel/

"The Rosary and the Scapular Are Inseparable
In order to obtain the graces and promises recieved from wearing the Scapular, one should wear it devoutly. In other words, under the usual conditions, i.e. state of grace (Go to Confession regularly!!), be properly invested/enrolled by a Catholic priest, pray either the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary or 5 decades of the Most Holy Rosary daily. Novenas to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel are optional but highly recommended to show the Mater Dei that we Her most lowly and undeserving servants have faith in Her most powerful protection and intercession."

This link also helpful:

http://carmelitanacollection.com/catechesis.php

 

Going very well. The readings each day have been on topics that I need direction with and needed to reflect on. We are following this method: http://www.fisheaters.com/totalconsecrationmontfort.html

 

I plan on following that one as well; I heard the Morning Glory preparation is done in groups and as far as I know there isn't a group near me that's doing that. Wonderful to hear!

 

I think you must have heard wrong about the Morning Glory one, it is for individuals, not groups (though I'm sure it can be done in groups, too). Many of us here have done it and found it wonderful, very accessible. I highly recommend it!

 

This is from True Devotion, which is worth reading many times.

62. If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. If devotion to our Lady distracted us from our Lord, we would have to reject it as an illusion of the devil. But this is far from being the case. As I have already shown and will show again later on, this devotion is necessary, simply and solely because it is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving him tenderly, and serving him faithfully.


In a way our Blessed Lady lends us her heart to love Jesus even more.

 

AveCrux ,
Why turn all over to Mary?
Mary gives her whole being to Jesus, all her thoughts words , joys, and sufferings in union with her beloved Son and in return He gives all to her. Is this not what we all are to do in our daily life? She adorns Him with her merits, she supports Him with her power given by God, she illuminates Him with her light, she inflames Him with her love like only a mother can do. Mary communicates to Him her virtues, her humility ( holiness is dying to self and who is a better example?), her faith and her purity .
Our own marriages should be like the marriage of Mary with the Holy Spirit. Oh, if we only fully loved 100% of the time as a couple united under God! Mary full of grace, filled with the Holy Spirit, conceives by the union of the Holy Spirit and springs forth Jesus.
Mary makes the good things we turn over more perfect, increases and purifies the gifts and merits that we present and presents them to our King on a gold platter to make what seemed to be small in our eyes, great in the heart of God. She is never out done in generosity!

 

I think the Consecration and Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is not a one of , but like a tree that grows and takes you over. At first like a little child you in a sens e form it. But then as it grows it becomes your parent and forms you as you yourself in your own turn become a little child......a Child of Mary.It is like a little acorn that is planted in our hearts that one day becomes a mighty oak so that at close of day we can take shade in its branches.

A bit like the mustard seed of Faith that Jesus spoke of so tiny as almost not to be seen but one day a mighty bush the birds can shelter in.

 

In this it reminds me of the rosary.

At first we set a little time aside each day to say it and it is a responsibility , perhaps an effort.

Then we grow to love it, this precious time with Mary and so we are drawn in by fire of love and say more and more. Tilll at the close of things we no longer say the rosary; rather we become the rosary.

 

My wife and I finished the 33 days on Sunday and consecrated ourselves last night in a ceremony at our parish following a living rosary ceremony. We were very pleased to do this on our Blessed Mother's Birthday, I guess I gave myself to her as her present

I cannot recommend this enough. It is the first time we have done it and to say it was fantastic is an understatement. My wife and I talked last night after the consecration and I asked her if she ever felt bogged down or burdened to do the prayers each day (some days were long) and then rosaries, litanies, etc. She answered as I felt, no. It was a joy each day and I started each day off with it, and actually missed it this morning, so started off with a rosary today instead. Daily rosary from now on, the rest of my life, can't imagine going without it now. I'm wearing a blessed brown scapular as well as my Fatima medal blessed at Fatima.

Thank you to all of you wonderful people for leading me to do this. At this past Sunday's Mass, which we attended after finishing the 33rd day readings earlier that morning (and after receiving Reconciliation the day before, 3 weeks after receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation shortly beginning of the consecration) I had the most amazing experience after receiving our Lord in the Eucharist. The choir was singing this song and I became acutely aware of each word as I was kneeling and praying after receiving:

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
I can feel his mighty power and his grace.
I can hear the brush of angels' wings,
I see glory on each face;
surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

And I could literally feel His presence, and hear the brush of angels wings. It was spiritual beyond belief and I literally could "feel" beyond the thin veil as tears rolled down my cheeks.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and with my entire soul to all on this board who helped me say yes and get my wife to do this consecration with me. Fatima and Andy, you both got my attention with it as well as countless others. And Charlie's, Mark Mallet's, Deacon John's words led me to know I had to get my spiritual house in order.

Please pray for my wife and I that we stay close to Jesus' Immaculate Heart through the intercession of Mary and pray that we are successful in getting our 4 children to do this (we'll do the 33 Days of Morning Glory with our 4 children, instead of the St. Louis de Montfort version my wife and I did this time). Again, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Armed and ready now, Jesus and Blessed Mother. Lead me where you want me to go and what you want me to do, your servant is ready and willing.

 

A wonderful prayer of Pope Saint John Paul II to pray after making your Consecration (or try to pray it every day):
Immaculate Conception, Mary, my Mother
Live in me, act in me, speak in and through me
Think your thoughts in my mind, love through my heart
Give me your dispositions and feelings
Teach, lead and guide me to Jesus
Correct, enlighten and expand my thoughts and behavior
Possess my soul
Take over my entire personality and life
Replace it with yourself
Incline me to constant adoration and thanksgiving
Pray in me and through me
Let me live in you and keep us
in this union always. Amen.

 

Lynn, love that prayer! Will add it to my morning prayers, thanks!

 

Lynnfiat, Denis and Cathy Nolan start the rosary every day on mary tv with the consecration prayer you have shared. It is lovely. I did not realise it was from St John Paul the Great. Bless him.

I just want to share with you that I am the saddest little bunny in the whole wide world today, because I wanted to start the 33 consecration to Jesus through Mary yesterday 20th February to complete on March 25th. I had found it on mary tv and completed it last year. It was truly wonderful.

I wanted to renew the consecration this year with so much happening around the world. The link to the consecration in mary tv is not working. I checked it again today and it is still not working. Bo ho ho ho.